PREVIEW

Mark Hamill and George Lucas lead tributes to James Earl Jones. The actor, who provided the voices for iconic characters like Star Wars' Darth Vader and The Lion King's Mufasa, died at his home in Pawling, New York on Monday. He was 93. Following the sad news, Star Wars actor Hamill took to X to write, "#RIP dad," with a broken heart emoji - a reference to when Vader revealed he was Luke Skywalker's father in 1980's The Empire Strikes Back. In a separate post on Instagram, Hamill described Jones as "one of the world's finest actors whose contributions to Star Wars were immeasurable”. Meanwhile, Star Wars creator George Lucas honoured the actor with his own message. ”James was an incredible actor, a most unique voice both in art and spirit. For nearly half a century he was Darth Vader, but the secret to it all is he was a beautiful human being. He gave depth, sincerity and meaning to all his roles, amongst the most important being a devoted husband to the late Ceci and dad to Flynn. James will be missed by so many of us...friends and fans alike.” Bob Iger, chief executive officer of The Walt Disney Company, also remembered Jones's contribution to cinema and praised his "rich and commanding basso profundo tones”. A number of celebrities paid tribute to Jones via social media too, with Colman Domingo calling him the "master of our craft” and Josh Gad claiming the Mississippi native offered some of the "best performances of any resume ever”. In addition, Octavia Spencer declared the word "legendary" doesn't "even begin to describe his iconic roles and impact on cinema forever”. ”His voice and talent will be remembered always. Sending love to his family, friends and countless fans in all the galaxies, far, far away.” While Kevin Costner noted he will never forget Jones's "booming voice" and "quiet strength" when they were making 1989's Field of Dreams. ”The kindness that he radiated. So much can be said about his legacy, so I'll just say how thankful I am that part of it includes Field of Dreams. If you've seen it, you know that this movie wouldn't be the same with anyone else in his role. Only he could bring that kind of magic to a movie about baseball and a corn field in Iowa. I'm grateful to have been a witness to him making that magic happen. Rest in peace, friend.”
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